Two Men Involved in Lawrence Heroin Trafficking Scheme Plead Guilty

BOSTON – A Dominican national and a Saugus man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston for their roles in a heroin trafficking scheme operating in and around Lawrence.

Waner Manuel Lara, a/k/a Anibal Santiago Torres, 34, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute a controlled substance – 100 grams or more of heroin and fentanyl, and one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance – 100 grams or more of heroin and fentanyl. Edwin Soto, 46, of Saugus, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute a controlled substance – heroin and fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled their sentencings for Jan. 17, 2018, and Jan. 10, 2018, respectively.

From about April 2015 to March 2016, law enforcement investigated the drug distribution activities of Ramon Baez and his associates in and around the City of Lawrence. Baez obtained kilograms of heroin and cocaine from local suppliers and suppliers based in Mexico.  Baez’s co-conspirator, Jose A. Rosario, supplied Baez with heroin, which Baez then repackaged for distribution.

Lara and Soto purchased heroin and fentanyl from Baez. On Dec. 29, 2015, law enforcement officers seized from Soto $99,200 in drug proceeds intended for Baez.  On March 19, 2016, agents seized from Lara 140 grams of heroin and fentanyl supplied to him by Baez.

Baez was sentenced in June 2017 to 121 months in prison, and Rosario was sentenced in September 2017 to 22 months in prison.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Ferguson of Weinreb’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the cases.